Students discuss the migration of monarch butterflies as an example of behavioral adaptations, then act out the behavioral adaptations of organisms in charades.

The course includes survey and special topics designed for graduate students in the brain and cognitive sciences. It emphasizes ethological studies of natural behavior patterns and their analysis in laboratory work, with contributions from field biology (mammology, primatology), sociobiology, and comparative psychology. It stresses mammalian behavior but also includes major contributions from studies of other vertebrates and of invertebrates. It covers some applications of animal-behavior knowledge to neuropsychology and behavioral pharmacology.

The introductory topics will cover various approaches to the study of animals and their behavior. Key concepts in studies of animal behavior, emphasizing ethology, are covered in class and in the assigned readings from Scott (2005), supplemented by selections from other books, especially from classics in the field as well as selected videos. Next, key concepts in sociobiology are covered using readings from Alcock (2001), supplemented by selections from additional books and some video presentations.

Why do animals do what they do? It’s a huge question, and in this episode, we’ll learn how scientists break it down. We’ll talk about the proximate and ultimate studies they use to understand animal behavior, and some of what they’ve learned along the way — including how much decision-making other animals are really doing.
Chapters:
Introduction: Animal Behavior
Proximate Level
Ultimate Level
Innate Behaviors
Complex Behaviors
Review & Credits
Credits

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"A recent study shows that common pesticides could seriously harm and disorient a songbird native to North America. Migratory bird populations across the world are declining. While that trend has been linked to a litany of complex factors, one of the most concerning is the widespread use of common pesticides, namely, organophosphates and neonicotinoids. Neonicotinoids, the more modern of the pair, were originally thought to be less harmful to the human and wildlife nervous system. But mounting evidence suggests that may notbe the case. One group of animals susceptible to the brain-altering effects of the pesticides are migratory songbirds. In a recent study, researchers looked at the white-crowned sparrow in particular. The white-crowned sparrow migrates as far as northern Canada during breeding season and as far south as Central Mexico in the winter. Like many other migratory birds, the sparrow relies on the rich farmland in between to rest and refuel. And that’s where danger may lie..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

In animal experiments, animals, husbandry and test procedures are traditionally standardized to maximize test sensitivity and minimize animal use, assuming that this will also guarantee reproducibility. However, by reducing within-experiment variation, standardization may limit inference to the specific experimental conditions. Indeed, we have recently shown in mice that standardization may generate spurious results in behavioral tests, accounting for poor reproducibility, and that this can be avoided by population heterogenization through systematic variation of experimental conditions. Here, we examined whether a simple form of heterogenization effectively improves reproducibility of test results in a multi-laboratory situation. Each of six laboratories independently ordered 64 female mice of two inbred strains (C57BL/6NCrl, DBA/2NCrl) and examined them for strain differences in five commonly used behavioral tests under two different experimental designs. In the standardized design, experimental conditions were standardized as much as possible in each laboratory, while they were systematically varied with respect to the animals' test age and cage enrichment in the heterogenized design. Although heterogenization tended to improve reproducibility by increasing within-experiment variation relative to between-experiment variation, the effect was too weak to account for the large variation between laboratories. However, our findings confirm the potential of systematic heterogenization for improving reproducibility of animal experiments and highlight the need for effective and practicable heterogenization strategies.

Free printable graphic novel that uses animal behavior to teach kids about the scientific method in a fun, hands-on way. Free lesson plan also available.

This inquiry lab activity involves students working to observe and describe to how worms will interact/adapt with their environment.

During this activity, students will investigate leech behavior. Students will learn to ask a question about leech behavior that can be investigated.

This activity is a classroom investigation of wolf behavior where students use observational evidence to identify and describe wolf pack structure.

This online textbook chapter will provide students with an understanding of the mourning behaviors in animals. It explores the different definitions used to compile the data today and provides examples across a variety of species including non-human primates, crows, elephants, dolphins, and whales. Multiple studies are cited which aim to collect first hand observational data as well as data analyzation from a variety of perspectives around the globe.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Roaming the forest floor, these army ants are doing what army ants do best: hunting insects to bring back to the colony. But they're not alone. The practice of gathering and consolidating enormous amounts of food has piqued the interest of other insects looking for an easy meal. It's a scene that plays out in most army ant communities; rarely are these colonies composed exclusively of ants, but often include numerous 'guest' species. A team of researchers from the US and Germany recently conducted a survey of these _guests_ in the tropical rainforest of Costa Rica. Using their morphological expertise and DNA sequence data, they were able to identify several new species of insects that had integrated themselves into the ant colonies. Among them, a hitch-hiking beetle disguised as an ant’s rear-end. Unlike most ants, army ants are nomadic. During their most active periods, the colony will move to a new nest site every day. This presents two difficult tasks for guest insects..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This article profiles Gerrit Vyn and Martha Fischer, sound recordists with the Macaulay Library, Cornell University, and their expedition to Nunavut, Canada, to record male sanderling vocalizations.

This article provides ideas and lessons on how elementary teachers can integrate webcams from the Arctic and Antarctica into their teaching. Five webcams are highlighted as well as three lessons on writing poetry and observing animal behavior.